


sometime after midnight the ground is gonna freeze

by celaenos



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Gen, Holiday Fic Exchange, The Barns, Trick Or Treat Prompts Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-20
Updated: 2015-10-20
Packaged: 2018-04-23 05:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4865186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celaenos/pseuds/celaenos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He always held Matthew tighter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	sometime after midnight the ground is gonna freeze

**Author's Note:**

  * For [plutonianshores](https://archiveofourown.org/users/plutonianshores/gifts).



“Where not really going in there, are we?” Matthew asked from somewhere behind Ronan.

“Sure we are,” he replied cheerfully. “It'll be fun.”

Matthew looked over at him dubiously. Ronan gave his brother a wicked grin, and walked on ahead of him.

Ronan had been bored, and for reasons escaping even himself, had corralled Gansey into poking around an old building at the edge of The Barns.

When they were little, Declan had _sworn_ that it was haunted. Ronan had glared at him—impressive even at seven—grabbed his sleeping bag, and informed Aurora and Niall that he would see them both in the morning. (Niall hadn't looked up from strumming his guitar, only grunted his acknowledgement. Aurora lifted her face away from her book and smiled at her son.) Ronan spent the entire night stubbornly sitting in the front hall, flashlight in hand, waiting for ghosts. They never came. (Though, Ronan _had_ fallen asleep sometime around two am.)

Matthew had been asking him stories, and Ronan remembered that night. He had only intended on going with Gansey to check it out, but, within minutes the group had expanded exponentially.

The building in front of him was decrepit and falling apart at every angle. It was chaotic at best and something out of a horror movie at worst. Looking at it felt like perhaps anything could happen. Ronan was having a grand time, though no one else seemed to be. Apart from Chainsaw, who was perched on Ronan's shoulder happily, and Gwenllian, who was wearing three separate dresses and twirling herself around. One of her dresses appeared to be on backwards.

“Why is it supposed to be haunted?” Adam asked, batting away a cobweb as they crossed the threshold.

Ronan shrugged. Adam took that as a sufficient enough answer, Gansey did not. He turned and gave Ronan _a look_. Ronan ignored him.

He walked into the front hall, Matthew right at his back, and reached up and flicked the chandelier above him. Dust fell down onto Matthew and he coughed, glaring over at Ronan. Ronan looked momentarily abashed before straightening and looking around. “Well, just as boring as I remembered. Declan is an idiot.”

Matthew made a noise that couldn't quite be distinguished between agreement and disagreement. Ronan smirked at him anyway.

“So... not haunted then?” Matthew asked.

“Well, I dunno, we've got a ghost,” Ronan pointed to Noah.

“Ronan,” Gansey said, stiffly. He walked around the main room, touching everything in sight. “Exactly _why_ did Declan think this place was haunted?”

“Look at it,” Blue said, waving her arms around the room. “It's like a scene out of a horror movie. Why is it even here?” she directed towards Ronan.

Ronan shrugged. “My parents always talked about renovating it for a guest house. But we had one already. I don't know what it was originally. A servants house a million years ago I suppose.”

“Well, that's not creepy or anything,” Adam said smartly. Ronan turned to him and just stared until Adam shrugged over beside Matthew and Gwenllian. Matthew was looking around in a bit of awe, never having been in this building before.

“I don't like it,” he declared a few moments later.

“Why not Matty? It's not scary at all,” Ronan taunted, only half heartedly.

Matthew turned and stuck out his tongue at Ronan, which seemed to delight him immensely.

Suddenly, Chainsaw called out, _Kerah,_ and then opened her beak and started singing, just like when they went into Jesse Dittley's cave. Only this time, they weren't tied together for safety. Ronan reached out for the closest person and ended up grabbing Blue to him. She squawked a bit in protest, but yanked Gwenllian along with her. Gansey and Adam pushed Matthew towards the middle and Ronan immediately grabbed him with his free hand. Noah hovered anxiously above them. And Gwenllian's voice started to echo with Chainsaw's.

“Stop it!” Blue yelled, shaking her a little. She only laughed, a little cruelly. It was slightly comical to watch, Blue trying to contain Gwenllian; she barely came up to Gwenllian's shoulders.

“Do you think this is real?” Blue asked, her voice a quiet wobble.

“I know when I'm awake and when I'm asleep,” Ronan responded firmly. Blue nodded at him, but didn't look thoroughly convinced.

“I don't dream,” Noah supplied from Ronan's left. “So it must be real.”

“Yes, thank you Noah,” Ronan snapped. Blue glared at him, and reached out to take hold of Noah's hand. Ronan rolled his eyes and held her gaze; playing their little game of who will look away first. It was always a draw. He refused to lose and so did Blue. He admired her for it, though he'd never tell her so. No one else challenged him quite like she did. Not even Gansey. Not in the same way. They both looked away together and Ronan finally kept tip toeing forward, one hand held firmly around Matthew's elbow.

“Declan was right,” Matthew whispered.

Ronan swore under his breath.

“Let's get out of here,” Blue hissed. Gwenllian had pulled away from Blue and was twirling again, her voice still echoing with Chainsaw. Blue grabbed at her, muttering under her breath about being the babysitter.

“Declan's never right,” Ronan said. “It's not haunted.”

“What exactly is your bird doing then?” Matthew asked him. Chainsaw was still singing the creepy tune.

“Not proving Declan right,” Ronan snapped. Matthew sighed and tried to yank his arm away from Ronan. Ronan only held him tighter. (He always held Matthew tighter.)

 _Kerah,_ Chainsaw called again, and flew off of Ronan's shoulder. Ronan swore again and chased after her, dragging Matthew along with him.

“If you admit that Declan was right, I'll give you ten dollars,” Matthew called.

“I don't need ten dollars,” Ronan jumped, reaching for Chainsaw. She flew out of his grasp, he could have sworn that she was laughing at him. He could hear Blue and Gansey trying to get Gwenllian to behave. Adam and Noah seemed to have moved to the front door, waiting for this idiotic afternoon to come to an end.

“Twenty dollars,” Matthew offered, jumping up to try and help get Chainsaw. He knew how much his brother cared about the bird.

Ronan scoffed spectacularly.

“Let's get _out_ of here now please!” Blue yelled at them. She had one hand gripping Gwenllian's hand in her own. Gansey was trying to diplomatically encourage Gwenllian out of the house. Blue was ready to just drag her along.

Ronan stopped jumping up and just stared up at Chainsaw, almost in the same dare he and Blue had shared a few moments ago. Only this time, he won. Chainsaw flew down and silently perched herself back onto Ronan's shoulder. Like nothing had even happened. Matthew let out a sigh.

“How about one hundred dollars?” he asked.

Ronan turned his body to face his little brother fully. “I will never admit that Declan was right about anything. Not for all the money in the world.”

Matthew grinned at him, bright and open; nothing at all like the sharpness to Ronan's grins. “But, when _I'm_ right, you will,” he teased.

Ronan didn't answer, but his own grin twisted wider as he strutted past Matthew and out of the old house. Chainsaw and Gwenllian remained quiet. His little brother's laughter rang out in his ears, and Ronan's smile softened just the slightest bit.

 

 


End file.
